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Backup vs main bass

#41
Biggbass said:
This ^
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Hmm. I wasn't trying to imply that I wouldn't gig the OLP bass. In fact, I do quite often.

Every bass I own is quite giggable, but then so are pretty much all of the entry level basses that I've played recently. It's certainly more the player than the bass guitar that makes a difference.

For those of you who say that all of your basses are equal - that's laudable. I wish I could say the same. My tastes change with time and with what I'm listening to most heavily. I still love my Precisions and Jazz basses, but for me to say that they're all equal isn't really fair or true. My Squier fretless Jazz is just not in the same league as my '75 reissue Jazz. I really like them both but the '75 RI is really head and shoulders better than the Squier in terms of tone and playability.

The OLP TL Sig and the SR5 are by far the most two similar basses that I own, and it made sense that one would be the backup for the other since they're so similar. I just thought that the relationship would be the opposite of how it's turning out. I suppose it's not unlike other relationships of mine where sometimes they turn out very different than how I imagined...

I suppose it is true, that the OLP is more of my go-to bass and the Stingray is becoming a "backup."

That notion of backups bass wasn't in my experience until lately when I've been playing more gigs and recording in which stopping to repair a problem isn't really going to work. I have to grab the "backup" and keep on playing until a break. At that point I can try to address whatever went awry.
 
#42
ashtray said:
I have an OLP and a StingRay. The StingRay is far superior, yet the OLP gets more playing time around the house. And that's not just impressive by 2 basses standards, but rather out of the dozen basses I have, the OLP is one of the cheapest and yet gets played very often while nicer ones sit in their cases untouched for years. I can only surmise that I'm an idiot. Then again, my Am Dlx Jazz is my typical go-to bass when I actually have more than 5 minutes to play, so its probably more a matter of available time than instrument preference. The OLP is just kept at an easier to reach spot. (and the ones in their cases that take 5-10 minutes just to get out? Well, lack of time explains their fate.)

But also, if any bass is set up to play well, its enjoyable no matter what the cost was.
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Totally agree.

I've been leaving both the SR5 and the OLP TL Sig out on the stand.

I still grab the OLP.

Maybe I'm just a fool.
 
#43
These days I have a CIJ Fender P that gets the gigs and a modded Squier CV P that I play at home. They feel and play pretty much identical to each other. I almost never play my two Rickenbackers anymore but I don't think I'll ever part with them.
 
#45
I used to have an assortment of basses, until I woke up one day realizing that I had 7 lower model basses and only played 2, my active jazz 5 strings. So now just I have those two, because that is obviously what I like, a Squier and a MIM Deluxe Fender. The MIM comes to the indoor gigs, the Squier to the outdoor. I live in SC and the temps in the summer go into the mid 100s with 100% humidity, so any show I play outdoors requires that bass to be restrung and re-setup afterwards. Eventually I'd like to get a MIA Deluxe Jazz and use the MIM for the outdoor gigs, but the set-up now isn't hurting anybody.
 
#46
I keep one of my beater frankensquiers (the P) at the home of a band mate where we rehearse, so that one gets lots of playtime. The other beater frankensquier (the J) stays at my house for practice or rehearsal with another band I'm in. I gig both beaters intermittently. No snobbery from me. I've finally gotten them set up to where I like the way they play.
 
#47
I have 4 basses (one fretless) and any of the three fretted ones are perfectly acceptable to everyone I play with, except one guy recording country music who prefers the Precision.

When I started playing again, I figured have the Precision, the Jazz, and the Stingray (all 5-ers) would cover all the, well, the basses. The Stingray is the go-to instrument. But later on, I'd break it up a bit, playing the Jazz on some Contemporary Christian music, and on a funk gig, I picked up the Precision and played a few tunes and the leadsman instantly asked me if I knew Patrice Rushen's "Forget Me Not" (good ear, man!).

I used to carry only one bass, but at a rehearsal a couple of years ago, my Jazz suddenly developed an odd sound from the bridge pup that made the bass sound really bad. I got through the rehearsal, but now I carry two basses. Any bass could do any gig at this point and while I used to play the Stingray nearly exclusively, but now I pick up one of the Fenders more often.

The fretless, well, its use speaks for itself. However, early own, I had 3 basses and on a Wednesday night I mistakenly grabbed the fretless! Well, being 40 minutes away from home when I got to church and realized what I had done, oh well, then, play the fretless! It worked out fine, but I immediately labeled all the bass cases with a gold Sharpie paint pen.
 
#48
My backup bass is often very similar to my main bass. Not really in sound, but how it feels in my hands. I have a upper mid-level Ibanez 5 for my main and a lower-mid Ibanez for my backup. Both are good basses and I can EQ the backup to sound very similar to my main. But I own a backup as simply that...a backup. Swapping a bass is faster than changing a broken string, taping a battery door shut, re-soldering a broken input jack. My backup bass has to be more playable than tonally similar; just get me through the end of the song/set/night.
 
#50
My main bass is a Dano Longhorn with ancient strings so I frequently bring a backup and never take it out of the gig bag . The backup is usually a Pbass , usually my 51 re-issue , sometimes my old 72 Pbass , occasionally a Stingray or a Rick 4001 , but I just use the Longhorn .
 
#51
I think this is more just a byproduct of having more than one bass. I have my go to (Ric 4003) that I absolutely adore and is by far the most well crafted of my basses, but I often find myself playing my P or J just for something different. I don't have a reason other than they're sitting in my living room, so they'll all get played.
 
#53
Out of my 8 basses, my main bass a Tune - it's a "finesse" kind of intrument but can get the sound I really like, my beater bass is the Talman TMB100 which is rugged and is essentially my swiss army beater kind of bass. Funny thing is playing the Talman is like wearing that comfy pair of sneakers - while it can't get me the kind of tones I can get on my main basses, I have less worry of damaging it, it's stable and can get quite a variety of tones-it's an all purpose kind of bass for me.
 
#55
Years ago I bought a near identical Squier P-Bass to match my first bass, so that I could have 2 in different tunings to save time during live gigs. I used to play them interchangeably, and even started to prefer the second one (new bass syndrome I guess). However, as my mods to my original started to grow and the budget for modding the secondary one shrunk, my secondary bass became exactly that - a secondary instrument. I haven't played live in a few years and never got to use it on stage, so that has something to do with it. Every now and again I'll play it because it's a nice change but for the most part it stays in its case. Now that I just ordered a Fender Jag, my current primary bass and the Jag will share duties as my "main" bass, although I'm sure the Jag will take most of the attention at first. My secondary bass will become my third-string bass, and may not be played again... but then again I still have plans to mod it, but those will be put to rest for now because of the Jag
 
#56
I've never actually had a true "backup" specifically--i.e. if I'm playing a P w/flats for a gig, I've never had another p w/flats sitting there in case of emergency. I'll have something close enough on hand though, that would work. I honestly can't remember a situation where I had to use my "backup", even on long tours. And I'm a "one bass for the whole show" kinda guy which has always worked for the acts I've played with. As for crappier backups, sometimes I just throw my kid's Squire Bronco in the car just in case something weird happens. Never had to use it, but I could certainly make it work in a pinch.
 
#57
I don't play dives anymore, so the threat of having an irreplaceable instrument smashed to smithereens by some drunken oaf is past. Now whatever bass I have a crush on at the moment is my main bass (or main squeeze), the rest are just my girlfriends. Maybe in a month or two another bass will make me want to take it out of its case and make beyootiful music together. With the technology available today, the tonal flexibility of basses and amps allows you to dial in an acceptable tone no matter which bass you use, within reason (NO Roundabout on an EB-0!). That means we're no longer limited to certain instruments for gigs.
 
#59
Part of it's definitely about tone, and also how that tone serves certain music, or even certain songs. Just because a certain instrument is "better", doesn't mean it's going to work better for everything. And sometimes people will go through phases where they just prefer that other tone/vibe/etc.

I have three electrics. My main guitar is a Squier Jaguar. Love that thing to death. But I also have a kitbashed/frankenstein Behringer. Clearly it's not well built, its components are inferior. But that also works for certain things. I actually keep it in Ostrich tuning and use for a couple of crazy drone tracks that I have.
 
#60
Since I got my Music Man, I haven't even bothered to take my backup out of my car at gigs (95 Peavey Fury with Dimarzios). I do bring it, though, just in case I need someone to run out and get it.
 

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